Can the fractious elements of the Republican party—from tea party fanatics to fiscal hawks and the religious right—come together behind a single candidate?

June 17, 2011

Can the fractious elements of the party—including tea party fanatics, fiscal hawks and the religious right—come together behind a single candidate?

The Republican field of presidential candidates that took the stage at the high-tech CNN debate on Monday spanned the party’s ideological spectrum. But can the fractious elements of the party—including tea party fanatics, fiscal hawks and the religious right—come together behind a single candidate? On this week’s episode of The Breakdown, The Nation‘s Washington editor Christopher Hayes talks to Slate political reporter Dave Weigel about the state of the conservative coalition.